This invention relates to an underwater vehicle, e.g. a submarine.
Conventionally submarines are controlled by two large fins towards the bow of the vessel, two at the stern, and a rudder for controlling its direction. When a manoeuvre is to take place a member of the crew makes individual decisions regarding the operation of each fin, and the rudder. These are individually controlled by mechanisms inside the hull of the submarine, employing some form of mechanical link to the fin outside the hull.
Conventional construction such as described above suffer from a number of difficulties. Firstly the manoeuvreability of the vehicle is very limited. A second difficulty is that the fins and rudder, particularly when adjusted to make a manoeuvre, create a considerable degree of turbulence in the water resulting in noise from which the submarine can easily be detected and located. A third problem is that if any one of the fins, or the rudder, becomes damaged the submarine becomes crippled.
It is the object of the invention to solve the above difficulties.